ITU Global ICT Regulatory Outlook 2017

This Global ICT Regulatory Outlook 2017 is the first of an annual series of reports tracking market and regulatory trends in the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector and their implications across the economy. It looks at how we got here, what here looks like now, and looks forward to the future.

Understanding current trends and challenges across ICT markets and regulatory frameworks can help address the gaps and capitalize on unexplored opportunities. This report provides useful insights and a clear, evidence-based perspective to do that.

This report is a key resource on smart, inclusive and forward-looking ICT regulation. Its findings can provide useful guidance in reviewing and upgrading regulatory frameworks for the ICT sector as the basis for the digital economy today and for the future.

The report reaches out to the regulatory community worldwide, policy makers, industry and the ICT community in general.

It’s a generation game

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Regulation is coming of age. Gone are the days of obligation-based regulation and a stovepipe ICT marketplace. That was Generation 1. Now there is a seismic shift moving countries through Generations 1, 2, 3 and 4. Generation 5 is on the near horizon and it rewrites the rules: it’s open, collaborative, flexible and consensus-based. Where does the Outlook 2017 place you in this regulatory generation game?

The wheel of collaborative regulation

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​​The Global ICT Regulatory Outlook 2017 argues that collaboration is the way forward for regulation in the ICT sector and beyond – and there is a growing consensus around this direction. To attain moving regulatory targets today, the immediate questions are how to collaborate and with whom. The collaborative approach is about what you are regulating and how, as opposed to what your role is in the market.

Outlook 2017 captures:

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• Seven main trends driving ICT markets.• Seven key tracks in the regulatory debate that will continue to develop over the year to come.• Seven forecasts for the transformation of the global regulatory landscape.

The data behind the report was captured through the ICT Regulatory Tracker, an evidence-based tool which covers up to 189 countries and economies over the period 2007 – 2015.

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ICT regulation & SDGs

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The Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) is committed to contributing towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations.

As our work in multiple areas unfolds, a major focus is set to exploring the avenues that regulation opens up to address social and development needs across the board. Building on our sound expertise in this area and solid evidence, the Outlook 2017 is doing exactly this.